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Ottawa New Art Festival 2012 review and thoughts

Jun 05, 2012

The rain made the 'carpet' look quite lush! The stand had to be movedquite far in because of the rain, which also necessitated putting thelarge photo blowup at the front, rather than risk damage to my frames.

First off, an enormous thank you to the hearty folk of Ottawa who came out in the rain... children, dogs and all... to see some truly fine art. This was one of the finest show crowds I have ever encountered...friendly, appreciative and uncomplaining. It was a true pleasure, and I was bowled over by the success I had.

The front wall is hanging down a bit simply to keep the rain out. Notice the 'process' poster. People STILL asked..."But where do you buy the miniature pieces?"

This review is mostly for the many artist/carny friends I have who haven't yet done the show. Often, when we consider a show, an e-mail frenzy (much like the FAB selling frenzy I experienced Sunday morn!) will ensue as we investigate who has done this or that show before, and what the vibe, crowd, details were.

Sooooo....here's the scoop...

The boxes REALLY drew people in.

Pouring rain for the entire drive up. I have never done a show in the rain and I think it's the unknown that is the scariest part. The venue was beautiful, and there really didn't seem to be a 'bad spot'. The jewel box park is set in the Glebe, which is a trendy area full of lovely homes, restaurants, shops and interesting people. Spots were well marked, and the load in went just fine. Even with the rain, the park was not muddy, and my spot was 10x10 as promised and level, as most seemed to be. The dirt paths did not seem to get too muddy either as the day progressed...basically, a pair of rubber boots was the only necessity.

I am in love with my new case from Dynamic Display Systems.

The rain was on and off the whole weekend....a very few sunny moments, and a few downpours. I really didn't notice this affecting the crowds. They were dressed for the rain. To be honest, I talked to many people, and many said that their sales were not up to last years', and that the crowd last year was huge (due to the sunny weather), but I was really happy with sales, so...................

The volunteers were friendly, and the outhouses were fully stocked with toilet paper the whole time...they even had the portable hand-washing units outside the stalls, soap, paper towels and all. A little wagon came round with incredibly friendly people selling coffee from the wee hours of set up right through the show.

The show hours were sooooo civilized, which makes for a great day. 10-5. You have time to pack your valuables up, then enjoy one of Ottawa's great restaurants. We also stopped at the National Gallery on the way out of town to take in the Van Gogh exhibit, and to see one of my fav paintings that I fell in love with on my first visit to the gallery years ago...